Batman Begins

Jun 15, 2005

I wasn’t planning to go see the new Batman on opening night, but I’m glad I did. Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were sort of like your first car. You get all psyched about having your own wheels, but once you’ve got it, you’re pissed because you realize that you’re 17 and the only thing you can afford is a piece of crap.

Batman Begins was like getting a Dodge Charger for your 17th birthday.

Aside from a couple well-that’s-convenient-for-the-plot’s and one or two technical that-can’t-be-right’s, it was incredible. Christian Bale made a much better Batman than I would have expected. The story focused more on his past and the death of his parents, so it was a lot darker than the last two. Thankfully, they didn’t need to spend half the budget developing a flashy rubber suit to make it worth seeing, and they ended with a quick nod to the original Batman.

If you were disappointed by the last two and swore you wouldn’t see this one - like so many other people I’ve talked to - reconsider. It will make you forget those two were ever made.

UPDATE: I totally forgot about my one gripe with the movie until I saw Jon’s post about it. The Clos-Up ShakyCamTM technique is getting old fast, but it wasn’t nearly as bad here as in The Bourne Supremacy and some other movies I’m sure to think of 5 minutes after I post this. It was irritating at the time, but not enough to change my opinion of the movie.